


we are all made of stars

by Damson



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Angst, Episode Related, F/F, F/M, It would be hard to escape it!, Missing Scene, S01xE12 - Vaulting Ambition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-11 03:42:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13515864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Damson/pseuds/Damson
Summary: Missing scene (sort of) from Vaulting Ambition. Michael/Georgiou undertones. Canon compliant.





	we are all made of stars

We are all made of stars. We are here just a while.

-

For the first time since she had beamed Ash off the ISS Shenzhou, and come face to face with a very personal ghost, Michael was surrounded by silence.

The Palace ship, its gargantuan size, hung static in space. It formed a small city surrounding a core nearly as bright as an exploding warp drive. Escorted by three guards, she’d been brought to a room to rest. Sharp angles abounded, with only the slightest nod to softness in the bed and coverings, and even those were draped with leather. 

Softness in this universe came with edges. 

The last time she’d slept, it had been in Ash’s warm arms, his eyelashes tickling her neck as he held her close. Time, space, and what felt like a lifetime existed between then and now.

“Don’t worry Burnham, I’m not going anywhere.”

The words hung in her mind. A ticker-tape of memory, clear as all those of Ash she held close to her heart. Quietly she had catalogued the unexpected moments, like her vulcan lessons, and committed them to the network of nerves and electrical impulses of her intellect. But not all were networked to her heart. His voice was soft back then. In her minds eye she could see his expression, clear eyed, open and more honest that she knew what to do with. He had tried. He had said he had tried -- to be human, for her. 

He had loved her. 

And with every replayed syllable she she could feel her stomach grow heavier, the grief and loss of something she had only just let herself feel, was all too real. But she pushed it down. Along with any sense of fear or anger that accompanied it. 

Now was not the time. 

Later, if there was one, might be. 

She reached to her shoulder, hooked her fingers beneath the metal breastplate, unclasped it, and pulled it off. She dropped it to the floor tiredly and stretched. Her skin crawled at the atmosphere within the darkly ornate suite. She was alone, a guard or two --no doubt-- outside. Inside, oppressive silence, a gilded cage of glass and metal. Far enough from the agonizers that the fate of those inside could be conveniently forgotten by the ship's inhabitants. 

The Terrans had an affinity for sustaining the most unpleasant aspects of human history, the darkness and cruelty that used to dwell on the lower decks of ships being one of them. She wondered after the fate of the Kelpian she had been asked to select. Would be the one to serve her here? 

Shuddering, she looked around. There was no furniture in the room, just the bed on a raised dais. Stepping up on it she sat on its edge. Settling, she took a deep breath through her nose, and ignored the metallic smell of leather and sweat from her uniform. Focusing, she closed her eyes as Sarek had taught her. She didn’t have long before she would be at Georgiou, no, the Emperor's table. And she needed as much focus as she could muster. 

The warmth of the Emperor's hand on her cheek lingered. The endearment, Daughter, burned her.

Maintain clarity. Allow thoughts to float by. You are not your thoughts. They are not of you. 

She could sense her inner strength, like an old friend, one she had relied upon often, but rarely thanked or acknowledged. Now she examined it; battered but not harmed. The connection she used to feel to Sarek, strangely absent. 

A breath. In through the nose, hold, and out. Repeat. And again.

It was some time before she opened her eyes, but when she did she was faced with the window strip along the external hull; the dim stars, all too familiar a view, lost of their brilliance. This universe seemed to be a place where light faded along with hope. She ached for the subtle brightness of the Milky Way, the explosion of colour of Andromeda, dimmed only by the tinted view screens of federation ships. 

But she had stars from that universe in her belly, its quantum signature in her skin and eyes. She shone with it; carbon now pressed to the glory and strength of diamonds. 

Her soul threaded through the mycelium network.

And she would outlive it all.

The cabin doors slid open. Three guards and the Emperor awaited. 

She would not fail.

**Author's Note:**

> Please do let me know if you enjoyed this, comments make my day! That or come squee with me on Tumblr @ashandalder :)
> 
> And sorry for any glaring mistakes, this is proof read but unbetad.


End file.
